Wales counterpart Chris Coleman had Wales talisman Gareth Bale as his player of the year, with Ronaldo and Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger completing his top three.

Apart from Hodgson, the only other person to put Barcelona midfielder Mascherano - who played for Hodgson at Liverpool - top was Belarus boss Andrei Zygmantovich.

However, notables with Mascherano in their top three included team-mates Neymar and Messi.

Ronaldo, 29, won for the second year running, and third time in his career, with 37.66% of all the votes cast by the 181 national team coaches, 182 national captains and 181 media representatives included in the electorate.

The Portugal captain, who helped Real Madrid win an unprecedented 10th European Cup title in May, beat Barcelona forward Messi (15.76%) and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Neuer (15.72%) to the award.

Neither Ronaldo nor Messi voted for each other in their top three - in a repeat of last year.

Other Ballon d'Or quirks

Former Chelsea defender Luiz, who left Jose Mourinho's Blues to join Paris St-Germain for a reported £40m last summer, played at centre-back in Brazil's 7-1 defeat by Germany in their World Cup semi-final.

The choice was widely ridiculed on social media. Pundit and former Norway international Jan Aage Fjortoft was among those surprised by Luiz's inclusion. He said: "David Luiz. Can't defend. Losing 7-1 vs Germany. Mourinho sent him away. Still World XI Award!!! Marvin Gaye: What's Going On?"

Wolfsburg boss Ralf Kellermann was named women's coach of the year after a successful defence of the Champions League and Wolfsburg and Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler was named women's player of the year.